There Arose a Reasoning Among Them . . .

Bonhoeffer & his students

In every community of faith and learning there come times of conflict.  Conflicts arise because these communities are composed of humans who are finite and fallen.  At every university where I've taught over the past sixteen years there have been conflicts – conflicts between students and faculty members; between faculty and fellow faculty; and between faculty and university administration.

A university is in many respects like all other human communities that experience conflict from within among its members.  Universities founded upon a common faith are no less prone to experience conflicts since, like every church fellowship, such a university is made-up of humans.  So it should come as no surprise that a Christian university, especially one that is in its early years of growth and development, would experience conflict between some of its faculty and its administrative leaders.

Brother Bonhoeffer knew the reality of conflict from within a fellowship.  During his days leading the Confessing Church’s seminary at Finkenwalde, he experienced it.  When he wrote about this experiment in Christian community in his little book Life Together, he began the fourth chapter with this warning:

“'There arose a reasoning among them, which of them would be the greatest’ (Luke 9:46). We know who it is that sows this thought in the Christian community.  But perhaps we do not bear in mind enough that no Christian community ever comes together without this thought immediately emerging as a seed of discord.  Thus at the very beginning of Christian fellowship there is engendered an invisible, often unconscious, life-and-death contest.  ‘There arose a reasoning among them’; this is enough to destroy a fellowship” (90).

Bonhoeffer’s insight exposes the root cause for many, if not most, of these conflicts in our communities.  It is the human desire for greatness or ascendancy over others.  He continues, “It is vitally necessary that every Christian community from the very outset face this dangerous enemy squarely, and eradicate it.  There is not time to lose here, for from the first moment when a man meets another person he is looking for a strategic position he can assume and hold over against that person.”

Bethge & Bonhoeffer - student & teacher

“There are strong persons and weak ones.  If a man is not strong, he immediately claims the right of the weak as his own and uses it against the strong.  There are gifted and ungifted persons, simple people and difficult people, devout and less devout, the sociable and the solitary.  Does not the ungifted person have to take up a position just as well as the gifted person, the difficult one as well as the simple? . . . Where is there a person who does not with instinctive sureness find the spot where he can stand and defend himself, but which he will never give up to another, for which he will fight with all the drive of his instinct of self-assertion?”

“All this can occur in the most polite or even pious environment.  But the important thing is that a Christian community should know that somewhere in it there will certainly be ‘a reasoning among them, which of them would be the greatest.’ It is the struggle of the natural man for self-justification. He finds it only in comparing himself with others, in condemning and judging others.  Self-justification and judging others go together, as justification by grace and serving others go together “ (91).

If this then is indeed the case, how may members of a community who are presently experiencing such conflict eradicate it?  Bonhoeffer offers a potential path in the remainder of his chapter.  There he addresses seven “ministries” that we owe to one another in community.   Each bears upon me and my colleagues here at Handong if we would be peacemakers and ones who are committed to the growth of our community of learning into wholeness and mutual blessing that flows to all.

 

Those within our Handong community who would advance and seek to protect  the students’ “right to learn” owe the ministries Bonhoeffer commends to professors, students and fellow administrators.   Those, on the other hand, who uphold and see to maintain the professors’ “right to teach” likewise owe these ministries to all others within the community of learning.

Rather than dispute over issues of control and authority, the ministries that Bonhoeffer teaches us to engage express avenues of service that lead toward mutual edification and the ultimate achievement of the goal of our community – the forming of whole persons who act responsibly in the service of others according to God’s calling upon their lives.

The first of these ministries, as Bonhoeffer describes them, is “the ministry of holding one’s tongue.”  “Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words” (91).    We are admonished in Scripture to be “slow to speak” (James 1:19), so we would do well to hold our tongue and think thoroughly we express comments, especially when they are criticisms of others.

Bonhoeffer advises that “where this discipline of the tongue is practiced right from the beginning, each individual will make a matchless discovery.  He will be able to cease from constantly scrutinizing the other person, judging him, condemning him, putting him in his particular place where he can gain ascendancy over him and thus doing violence to him as a person.  Now he can allow the brother to exist as a completely free person, as God made him to be” (92-93).

The second ministry is meekness. “He who would learn to serve must first learn to think little of himself” (94).  This is not self-loathing, but rather a proper view of self.  “Only he who lives by the forgiveness of his sin in Jesus Christ will rightly think little of himself” (95).  Such a perspective, Bonhoeffer acknowledges, leads to a challenging conclusion: “To forego self-conceit and to associate with the lowly means . . . to consider oneself the greatest of sinners. . . If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. . .  He who would serve his brother in the fellowship must sink all the way down to these depths of humility” (96).  

Holding one’s tongue and meekness lead naturally to the third ministry we owe one another in community – that of listening. “Just as love to God begins with listening to His Word, so the beginning of love for the brethren [i.e. for others] is learning to listen to them” (97). To be an effective listener, though, is a skill we must be devoted to developing. Our tendency is merely to “wait to talk” when in conversation with others. What we need to be doing is authentic listening. Bonhoeffer warns that “he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but prattle in the presence of God” (98). 

By listening we are enabled to understand the needs of others and so reach out to them with the ministry of helpfulness. “This means, initially, simple assistance in trifling, external matters . . . Nobody is too good for the meanest (i.e. lowest) service. One who worries about the loss of time that such petty, outward acts of helpfulness entail is usually taking the importance of his own career too solemnly” (99).  

The next service we owe is the ministry of bearing. “’Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ’ (Gal. 6:2). . . Bearing means forbearing and sustaining. . . The Christian . . . must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated” (100). As we extend this service, Bonhoeffer calls us to bear both the freedom of the other person as well as his sin through regularly practicing forgiveness. 

The thoughtful engagement of these first five ministries – holding one’s tongue, meekness, listening, helpfulness and bearing – provides the only sure foundation for the next – the ministry of proclaiming the Word. This ministry is not the “preaching of the Word” but rather “that unique situation in which one person bears witness in human words to another person, bespeaking the whole consolation of God, the admonition, the kindness, and the severity of God” (103-104). “We speak to one another on the basis of the help we both need. We admonish one another to go the way that Christ bids us to go. We warn one another against the disobedience that is our common destruction” (106).  

Bonhoeffer concludes with the ultimate service we owe -- the ministry of authority. This ministry, however, can only be exercised by those who have first fulfilled the all that come before it because “Jesus made authority in the fellowship dependent upon brotherly service” (108). “Every cult of personality that emphasizes the distinguished qualities, virtues, and talents of another person, even though these be of an altogether spiritual nature, is worldly and has no place in the Christian community . . . The Church does not need brilliant personalities but faithful servants of Jesus and the brethren” (108-109).  

Indeed, no community of faith, no community of learning, needs brilliant personalities. What we need are faithful followers of Christ who seek daily, by His grace, to serve one another according to the call of God. What is needed to eradicate the attitudes and actions that destroy our community of learning are men and women possessed with the mind of Christ that seeks not their own interests and rights but those of others. Such an approach to sustaining our community of learning and faith will not pit the right to learn against the right to teach. Rather, it will serve others by taking seriously the responsibility to teach and the responsibility to learn as we seek together to obey the call of Christ and serve the needs of others in the here and now.

May I Talk to You about My Plans?



All Nations Hall


This is a question that is posed to me by my students several times a week.  I've found that the typical Handong student is much more inclined to be thinking about her or his future than the run-of-the-mill student in the States.  That's not to say, however, that I didn't have many exceptional students during my days of teaching at both Fontbonne and MBU who were quite serious about making their lives count. 

But, in general, I'm finding that the vast majority of students here think about making a difference in the world in the -- to borrow a phrase from Brother Bonhoeffer -- "the concrete realities of life in here and now."  As a result, I've had many students visiting my office (on the 3d floor of All Nations Hall -- my window is the first one on the wing that extends off to the right of the corner tower), even within the first week of classes this semester, to talk about the plans they have made or are seeking to make for their studies and future roles of service. 

Quite a number of them are interested in discussing whether the major in U.S. & International Law ("UIL") would help to equip them for positions in government or non-governmental organizations within their home countries or in developing third-world countries.

In fact, just I was started composing this post yesterday afternoon, I had a knock on my office door and a freshman came in to discuss this very question.  All the freshman here at Handong start as "Global Studies" majors, and then within their first two semesters, they are required to declare two specific majors they wish to pursue through their studies.  That's right, every student at Handong declares two majors! Many of the freshman are stopping by my office to discuss the UIL major.

Often, students will tell me of a personal "vision" they have for their lives.  They describe the positions they imagine themselves occupying in leadership roles within major international corporations or political parties.  Others have a strong commitment to developing countries and during their university studies use holiday breaks to work in Cambodia or Kyrgyzstan rather than travel to the sunny beaches of Phuket. In nearly every case, though, they have carefully thought through their plans and are looking ahead with very specific expectations.

After recounting to me their plans and expectations, these students will then sit quietly with a slight smile on their faces as they await my comments.  What should I say?  Do I affirm their plans?  Should I suggest alternatives? Should I encourage them or try to dissuade them for their proposed path, if I think it might be unwise?  Because the Asian culture puts such a strong emphasis on young people respecting the advice and guidance of their elders, I'm put in quite a precarious position.

I don't have any fixed answers for them.  I don't offer any formulas for success, nor do I try to tell them what God's will is for their lives.  Instead, I feel like the Korean Buddhist monk, well-known for his silence and meditation, who when he was asked for a "word of wisdom" by his students told them, "Never trust the word of a monk."  So rather than try to offer them specific counsel regarding their plans and choices, I encourage them to seek out the path where they can best serve the purpose to which they have been called.

I suggest that success in life can only be found as we, individually and with others, seek to discover how we have been designed and equipped to serve others, and then start doing that service now in the midst of the concrete realities of life.  Plans for the future can provide guidance for the way we live out today, but what is of even greater importance is living fully in the present -- making the most of each opportunity to serve that we are provided today.

"The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."  ~ Proverbs 16:9

Living to Teach Rather Than Teaching to Live

As I ponder the possibility of returning to teach at Handong University in Korea, I have been revisiting the Analects of Confucius.  One in particular is especially applicable to anyone who senses that the calling upon their life is a call to teach.

Of his own role as a teacher, Confucius said, "For anyone who brings even the smallest token of appreciation, I have yet to refuse instruction."

This responsibility to the one seeking instruction was again impressed upon me when I read this morning these verses in The Wisdom of Solomon: "The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern for instruction is love of her."  So when one is met with a request from those who are sincerely seeking instruction, the one who has a call to teach must give the most deliberate consideration to responding.

This type of thinking challenges me to confront the question:  Do you teach to live or do you live to teach?  Another way to put the question would be to examine whether I am accept the offer to teach primarily and principally as a means to make a living, or do I view the opportunity to teach as an open door through which God is directing me to proceed in faith depending upon him and him alone to provide for my earthly needs?

Am I taking no thought for tomorrow, anxious over what I will eat or where I will live or how I will be clothed?  Am I willing to follow on trusting the one who is my Guide, not only to make the way clear, but also to provide all that will be needed for me to progress along that way?  Here Bonhoeffer instructs: "The only way to win assurance is by leaving to-morrow entirely in the hands of God and by receiving from him all we need for to-day" (Discipleship, 178).

"Watch and Pray"

I find myself in a time of waiting. As I ponder the options that are before me, I continue to wait on the responses of others to clarify what opportunities are presently open to me. While prayer is always essential to the one who seeks to follow Christ, I'm realizing even more how necessary it is during these times of waiting.

Bonhoeffer's comments on the petition "Thy will be done, as in heaven so on earth" are particularly poignant as I seek to practice living a submitted, singular and sacrificed life. He writes: "In fellowship with Jesus his followers have surrendered their own wills completely to God's, and so they pray that God's will may be done throughout the world. No creature on earth shall defy him. But the evil will is still alive even in the followers of Christ, it still seeks to cut them off from fellowship with him; and that is why they must also pray that the will of God may prevail more and more in their hearts every day and break down all defiance" (Discipleship 166).

Psalm 40 echoes this theme -- "my delight is to do your will, O Lord!" -- and so may my heart and mind! Show me your way, O Lord; lead me in the path you have set out ahead of me. Again, Bonhoeffer speaks to the heart of the matter: "It is always true of the disciple that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and he must therefore "watch and pray" (Discipleship 170).

Concluding Thoughts

I've now been back in the States for five weeks. Much of my time since returning has been spent with my mother who still lives in my hometown in central Missouri.  She has been experiencing some health issues which at 81 years of age can be quite debilitating.  I've been thankful that I have been able to be near, help and encourage her. My days with her have affirmed God's direction for me at this time.

During my visits with my mother, I've also have been afforded a considerable amount of quite time.  So among other studies, I've been reading Eric Metaxas' new biography on Bonhoffer.  It gives some wonderful insights into the daily life and struggles Bonhoeffer encountered, especially in the mid to late 1930's, as he sought to learn and do what he believed to be God's will for his life.  Bonhoeffer's view of the Scripture comes through quite vividly as he writes to his family and friends regarding his decisions.

Bonhoeffer believed that God desired to and did speak very personally to his servants through his Word.  He read the Scriptures daily with an anticipation of God's revelation to him -- not, however, of some new or extra-biblical idea, but of God's will for him.  When pondering whether to stay in America in the summer of 1939 as Germany under Hitler was on the verge of war, Bonhoeffer read Isaiah 28:16, "The one who believes does no flee" and became convinced that to remain in America was "to flee" from his responsibility before God in Germany. 

He decided to leave the safety and security of America and return as soon as possible to his homeland. A few days later he read 2 Timothy 4 - "Do thy diligence to come before winter" and reflected in his personal journal upon this verse in these words:  "Come before winter" -- it is not a misuse of Scripture if I take that to be said to me.  If God gives me grace to do it." (Emphasis in the original) (p. 340 in Metaxas). 

As I think about the way Bonhoeffer lived his life, I am becoming more and more convinced these days that to live a life truly submitted to God's Word, I too must look daily to God in faith with an expectation for his guidance and direction through the revelation of his Word.  This will not come by the effort of analyzing the Word with human reason, but through the work of the Holy Spirit in a heart and mind that desires to do God's will.

I believe this is one of the most important lessons that I have been learning during the past year, most of which I have lived abroad at Handong.  I am open to return and serve others there in the future as God directs.  For now, though, I'll remain here seeking to study, practice and teach God's Word and way by serving others, my mother and family chief among them.  I'm also thinking of starting a new blog where I'll continue to post some of my persistent ponderings along the way.

The Ministry of Holding One's Tongue

Brother Bonhoeffer taught the importance of speaking fewer words, especially when the more words spoken would tend to tear down others rather than build them up. In his chapter from Life Together devoted to the "ministry" we owe one another in community, he places the "ministry of holding one's tongue" as the first.

Bonhoeffer counsels us to practice these ministries in order to guard against the natural tendency toward ascendancy and control that arises in every human community. This grasping for power is frequently accompanied by condemning and judging others in the struggle of the natural man for self-justification.

In response, Bonhoeffer writes: "Often we combat our evil thoughts most effectively if we absolutely refuse to allow them to be expressed in words. It is certain that the spirit of self-justification can be overcome only by the Spirit of grace; nevertheless, isolated thoughts of judgment can be curbed and smothered by never allowing them the right to be uttered, except as a confession of sin . . . . "He who holds his tongue in check controls both mind and body" (James 3:2ff). Thus, it must be a decisive rule of every Christian fellowship that each individual is prohibited from saying much that occurs to him."
. . . .
"Where this discipline of the tongue is practiced right from the beginning, each individual will make a matchless discovery. He will be able to cease from constantly scrutinizing the other person, judging him, condemning him, putting him in his particular place where he can gain ascendancy over him and thus doing violence to him as a person. Now he can allow the brother to exist as a completely free person, as God made him to be. His view expands and, to his amazement, for the first time he sees, shining above his brethren, the richness of God's creative glory."

Through my on-going experiences with students, colleagues and administrators up to this very day, I continue to learn the wisdom of Brother Bonhoeffer's words that affirm, in nearly every context and circumstance, the adage: Fewer words are best.

Lifelong Learning in Balance

Balance is one of the essential keys to living wholly. The Greeks taught moderation in all things -- the golden mean. The Scriptures, too, teach balance -- particularly in the arena of study. On the one hand, Paul exhorts Timothy to "study to show himself approved unto God as servant of the truth who is able to "cut a straight line" with God's Word. (See 2 Timothy 2:15). On the other hand, though, Solomon warns us that "there is no end" to the "making of many books," and "much study is weariness to the flesh." (Ecclesiastes 12:12).

Hence, balance is also the key to study. When, however, you live on a university campus just a short walk from your office and two libraries, not to mention having ready access in both home and office, via the Internet, to a wide array of library collections from institutions of higher learning around the world, you are daily confronted with the temptation to live an unbalanced life -- to engage in "much study" and aspire to the "making of many books." A life lived according to the golden mean easily escapes you.

A life of balance can be an even greater challenge, though, in the face of requests for your assistance with the learning of others. In the past week, I have been approached by three different people asking for my help with the forming and leading of study groups (both a law student group and a faculty group) and the mentoring of other faculty. My first inclination is to offer whatever help I may be able to give. Jesus’ words, “Freely you have received, freely give” come to mind. I want to encourage others in their desire to learn and grow in knowledge as well as in faith.

So what’s a person, who believes they have been called to teach, to do? The Chinese proverb written along the side of this post says: “Study is eternal.” That is, the pursuit of truth, insight and understanding is a lifelong endeavor. Each day we’re on the path of learning. Our progress along the way, though, will be substantially enhanced by keeping our life, as a whole, in balance. Even as we seek to respond to the requests and inquiries of others, we must maintain a balance in our life together of learning.

Bonhoeffer suggests in Life Together that one of the key means of maintaining balance in life is to live each day as both a day with others and as a day alone. Indeed, he emphasizes how these two aspects of life impact each other when he writes, “Let him who cannot be alone fear to be in community; and, let him who cannot be in community, fear to be alone.” In order to respond effectively to others, I must maintain a daily discipline of solitude. So too, study is balanced with work, rest, and prayer.

These are the rhythms to the balance of  a long life of learning.

First Day's Daunting

The first day of the new term can be daunting. When you look at your first class roster and see more names than the number of seats in the classroom you've been assigned, you can feel a bit overwhelmed. But, with the help of your able Teaching Assistant, you scout out available, larger classrooms down the hall and find, to your great relief, that the largest lecture room in the new wing of your building is open and accommodates all of the students who have registered for your course -- even the ones on the waiting list who are making heart-felt appeals for admission.

As the room begins to fill, you are pleased to see that you actually recognize some of the students as those who had taken (and survived) one of your classes in the past fall term.  You think to yourself, "Maybe this term I'll even be able to master some of their names." Then, it happens.  More students arrive.  Now there are students who are on neither the class roster nor the waiting list!  That daunting feeling begins to creep up on you again.  As the seats begin to fill, the students are thankful that you have selected the largest classroom, but you begin to suspect that a more moderate-sized one might have been a better choice.

The time comes to begin your introduction and overview of the course, and after a few words of personal greeting, you invite each of the students to introduce himself and herself.  As each rises to do so, up and down through all of the many rows, you realize once again why you do what you do.  Each face is full of expression.  Each voice speaks with its own accent -- Korean, both South and North, Vietnamese, Tajik and Mongolian as well as a few Korean Americans who grew up in Minnesota, New Jersey or California, and even other Koreans who have lived in South Africa and Senegal.  You have been given the opportunity of leading and the privilege of learning together with some of the best and brightest students from around the world.

While the day began under daunting circumstances, by the end of the first class period that overwhelming feeling has transformed into an enveloping excitement.  The new term has begun.  Its time to seize the day, and undertake another journey with your students as together you continue to pose and ponder the persistent questions of life.

Test everything; hold fast what is good. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Staying Up Late and Rising Early

Our first week back at Handong has been filled with a variety of meetings and tasks aimed at orienting the faculty to a new academic year and instilling us with a renewed sense of vision and purpose in our callings to learn and teach others.  Each day has been filled with sessions where the speakers have found some interesting ways to extend their presentations well beyond the time allotted on the published schedule of events for the faculty retreat.

One speaker, in particular, announced at the beginning of his lecture that he would require three hours to make his speech even though he had been slated for only one.  As he neared the 90-minute mark, he was handed a note informing him of the need to conclude so that he would be able to catch his flight back to Seoul.  Instead of bringing his remarks to a prompt conclusion, he publicly requested the University's president to change his flight schedule so that he might have sufficient time to complete his presentation.

Needless to say, we are still experiencing some definite challenges adjusting to the local culture.  One of the most "stretching" is an expectation of our participation in dinners that begin at 8pm and are followed by more meetings that continue until midnight.  Now, I do recall that when Paul was about to depart from Troas, he prolonged his sermon until midnight (see Acts 20:7ff), but this does not appear to be a pattern in either the Apostle's life nor was it in Jesus'.  So, I don't think that you could readily cite Biblical precedent for such late night meetings, but it does, however, seem to be somewhat the norm in this culture.

What's even more challenging than late-night meetings, though, is an expectation that you should also be able to rise up early each morning for a time of personal devotion and community prayer.  Now, I'll acknowledge that early rising is both a good habit and one that is modeled by many throughout the Scriptures. Bonhoeffer makes a succinct case for this discipline in Life Together.

On the other hand, there is explicit guidance in the Word against attempting to combine the two -- staying up late and rising early.  So, while adjusting to a new culture is clearly a challenge, maintaining and cultivating a healthy and balanced pattern of life is paramount, wherever you may be living and whatever the expectations of others may be upon your life.

It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.  ~ Psalm 127:2

For Every Sigh There is a Psalm

The Book of Psalms is for many their most favorite book in the Bible.  Bonhoeffer wrote from his prison cell, "I love the Psalms.  I read them every day."  I would have to say that over the years, the Psalms have indeed become my favorite book -- the portion of Scripture that I tend to turn to most often when I seek to pray, when I look for words to express thanksgiving and most especially, when I long to pour out my heart before God.

I cannot now recall where I first read or heard what is, I think, the best seven-word summary of the Psalms, but it often comes to mind, and I've encouraged others in their times of dryness with these words:  "For every sigh there is a Psalm." In the Psalms, we meet David in his triumphs and defeats.  We read Moses' wisdom and his praise.  And, we even hear the hearts of those little known poets of the Lord like Asaph and the sons of Korah.

It should be no surprise then that the words of a Psalm brought with them a refreshing breath of the Spirit to a dry heart.  For me, this past weekend, it was Psalm 94:18-19 where the unnamed psalmist writes:

I need only say, 'I am slipping,' for your faithful love, Yahweh, to support me; however great the anxiety of my heart, your consolations soothe me. (New Jerusalem Bible)

His consolations came Sunday morning as I heard an encouraging message emphasizing God's faithfulness to His promise from 2 Samuel 7. In that chapter, God covenants with David, and David's response was simply, "Lord, do as you have said."  Later that morning, I gave a talk to the KEBS class at Joyful Church.  The lesson assigned to me for the day -- God's promise to Noah, his family and all creatures on the earth that was marked-out by God's setting His bow in the sky.

The Lord has His way of reminding us of His care, His promise, His faithfulness that support us however great the anxiety of our hearts or however many the sighs of our souls.

It is Two Degrees!

How many times does something need to happen before we get it? Why are we surprised when what we have experienced before happens once again? Well . . . when what is happening goes against the norm; when what we are experiencing reminds us that we live in world -- not of chance and randomness, but one of purpose and design -- where things that appear to just happen actually happen to remind us that we all are quite closely connected -- it can be surprising, but even more, it should awake us to the wonder of life.

It was the words of Francis Schaeffer that so vividly impressed upon my mind the difference between viewing life as a matter of chance and randomness and viewing it as an expression of purpose and design. In his book and the accompanying video series, How Shall We Then Live, Schaeffer shows how music, film and art all attempted to embody a world of chance and randomness during what he called the "Age of Fragmentation." But, even in these attempts, "the universe that is" kept coming through. A universe of purpose and design that neither Jackson Pollack nor his comrades could overcome.

I was reminded of that very purpose and design this weekend when I attended a lecture by one of my new colleagues, Prof. Heinz Schoenhoff. I was intrigued to learn from Heinz that after leaving his professional counseling practice in Canada in 1975, he and his wife, Elsie, moved to Switzerland where they became a part of the L'Abri community founded by Francis and Edith Schaeffer. There they frequently attended small group gatherings in the home of Udo and Debbie Middelmann, the Schaeffer's daughter and son-in-law.

I was even more fascinated to learn during a conversation with Heinz following his lecture, that among the other members of the L'Abri community at the time he and Elsie were there was Jerram Barrs. Jerram was one of my professors during my studies at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis. What is particularly significant though, is that Jerram was one of the most influential professors on my life through not only his teachings and writings, but even more so by the life that he lives and the person that he is.

There I was again -- meeting someone who knew someone that I knew -- two degrees of separation!












From Heinz to Udo Middelmann and Jerram to me. Yes, it is a very small world, especially within the fellowship of Christ's Body. Yet, there is still something more. When I went to Heinz's lecture Saturday afternoon, I was carrying along with me a book (following the example of my Missouri Baptist University colleague, Clark Triplett -- who is never without a book in hand) to read while I was waiting for the lecture to begin.

The book was one that I had purchased from a used-book table at Covenant Seminary's library several years ago -- a volume entitled, I Knew Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Since it was a used book, it was not unusual to find that inside the front cover there was an inscription. The book had been a gift from one friend to another many years ago.

The inscription reads "To Egon at Christmas ~ love and warm regards, Ron 1989." The Egon to whom this book had been given was Egon Middelmann the brother of Udo whom my colleague Heinz had come to know at L'Abri more than thirty years ago. Such closeness of ties within the fabric of life experiences continues to amaze me. Maybe one day I will begin to view these experiences of community with less surprise, but I trust, no less wonder. May we all find greater joy in the journey, today.



"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)